Mothers facing charges of DUI, endangerment

EAST BROOKFIELD 
In two separate weekend incidents, two local mothers have been charged with child endangerment while driving under the influence.

In Leicester, police stopped Kathryn A. Crocker, 37, of 10 Wesley Drive, Leicester, about 7:40 p.m. Friday after an off-duty Webster police officer allegedly noticed her 2006 Jeep Commander crossing the center line and then going into the breakdown lane. Leicester Officer Michael P. Fontaine pulled into Ms. Crocker’s driveway behind the vehicle and asked her for her license.

“(Ms. Crocker) proceeded to dump the entire contents of her purse out into her vehicle,” the officer wrote in his report, adding that she then asked her 13-year-old son, who was seated in the passenger’s seat, to find the registration. Two other children were in the back seat, court documents indicate.

Police wrote that Ms. Crocker told them she’d had about two glasses of wine and she later registered a .20 on a breath test. The legal limit at which a person is deemed to be intoxicated is .08. She also failed to complete field sobriety tests, police wrote.

She was arraigned Monday in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield on charges of drunken driving, negligent driving and child endangerment while driving drunk. She was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court on May 1.

Also arraigned in East Brookfield on Monday was Maureen N. McGarry, 49, of 176 West St., Barre, on charges of driving under the influence of drugs, child endangerment while driving under the influence, illegal possession of prescription medications, negligent driving, a marked lanes violation and driving a vehicle that does not meetRegistry of Motor Vehicle standards.

Officer Joseph Brown said he stopped Ms. McGarry around 12:15 a.m. Saturday. He said she told him she’d been out at a Fitchburg coffee house for her birthday and had consumed a Kahlua and coffee. But Officer Brown said he thought her movements seemed slow, and when she could not complete field sobriety tests but a breath test showed an error message, she was arrested.

Officers found a bottle of pills, some of which were prescribed to her and others that were not identifiable by the officer. She allegedly told police she’d taken a double dose of Clonazepam. The drug is used to treat seizures and anxiety, several websites indicate.

According to court documents, Ms. McGarry’s 13-year-old son was “seat-belted in the front seat.” He was taken to his father’s home by police.

Ms. McGarry was released on personal recognizance at her arraignment Monday and is due back in court on May 7.